Chuck Vs Pancakes
by ellenscult
Summary: Chuck's upset after events in 2.18 so Casey takes him out for pancakes. Chuck/Sarah, Chuck/Casey. CONTAINS SPOILERS 2.18-2.22 ! CONTAINS M/M SLASH, so if you don't like or it's illegal where you are, don't read. NEW: Parts 9 & 10
1. Chapter 1

'Get your coat, Chuck,' John snapped, pulling the door closed behind him.

The young man looked up from his perch at the side of the fountain. 'A mission?' he asked, shaking water from his fingers.

'Pancakes.' The agent strode through the courtyard towards his car. 'Now!'

Chuck scrambled to his feet and ran after his handler.

'Where are we going?' He tugged open the car door and folded himself into the passenger seat.

John stared at him.

'What? Oh, right!' Hurriedly, Chuck fastened his seatbelt. 'So, is that a code word, or something?'

The older man grunted and pulled smoothly into traffic. 'Or something.'

Chuck watched him as he drove. It was a short journey; five minutes later, John signalled, turned into a parking lot, and Chuck's eyes widened.

'IHoP?'

'I'm buying.' Flashing a rare smile, John turned off the engine and opened his door. With his customary expression of confusion, Chuck followed.

Once they were seated in a booth which provided John with an excellent view of both the entrance and the kitchen door, Chuck leaned forwards.

'What's going on? Are we meant to be watching for someone? John? Casey?'

John pressed a menu into Chuck's hands and picked up another. 'Pick something.'

With a sigh, Chuck looked down at the menu. A minute later, a waitress came by.

'Coffee. And I'll have the harvest grain and nut pancakes with cinnamon apple,' Casey rattled off. 'Chuck?'

'I, uh... Coke? And the strawberry banana pancakes, thanks.'

Declining whipped cream, they sat in silence until their drinks were placed in front of them.

'So what's all this about, John?' Chuck asked, toying with the straw in his glass.

'You've stopped talking.' The agent leaned back, took a sip of his coffee.

'No I haven't!' Chuck protested, voice high with indignation. 'I was talking! I asked you where we were going, why we're here, and you didn't answer! If anything, I'd say that makes you the one who's stopped talking, but you never talk much anyway.'

John raised an eyebrow. 'You avoided talking with Ellie yesterday evening. Today you actually blew off Morgan when he asked you what sandwich worked best for zero-g. If it's not work-related, you haven't said it. What's going on in there, Chuck?' He leaned forward and rapped a knuckle on the young man's forehead.

'Hey, stop it!' Chuck scowled. 'What if I just don't have anything to say?'

'Hah! The day you run out of things to say about sandwiches is the day I turn in my NRA membership.' John leaned back again as the waitress returned with their orders.

'I just... have a lot to think about,' Chuck said quietly, staring down at his pancakes. 'I know I'm under surveillance, but I just didn't realise it was quite so...'

'Everywhere?'

'Yeah.'

'No surveillance here,' John pointed out, gesturing around the restaurant with his fork. 'Beyond the CCTV over the register, that is. You want to talk, it goes no further.'

Chuck's shoulders dropped as some of his tension left. Poking at his pancakes with his fork, Chuck sighed. 'I never meant to get Sarah in trouble.'

'That's not all your fault. Chuck,' John said. 'Sarah being partnered with Bryce is the reason why her bosses kept such a close eye on her, not you. She was off-balance from before he ever went rogue, from the time they first started working together. No matter what, her motivation's going to be suspect.'

'That's not fair. Sarah's a damn good agent,' Chuck said vehemently.

'And the General knows it, so you don't have to worry on that score. Easy, tiger.' John took another bite of his pancakes.

Chuck cut a piece out of a pancake with the side of his fork and speared it. Eyes fixed on it, his mouth twisted into a bitter smile. 'I didn't know it was going to be this hard.'

John put down his fork and waited.

'I know I can't go into a bunker. It'd kill me, being locked away from everyone I love. I just didn't know it'd be so... painful... here.'

'Then you should try staying in the car,' John said mildly.

'Not - not the running and the being shot at and kidnapped and tortured, although that is pretty painful-'

John grunted.

'I didn't know this would break my heart,' Chuck whispered, eyes fixed on his food.

'It tastes better hot,' John said. 'Try it.'

Numbly, Chuck did as he was told, putting the forkful into his mouth and chewing mechanically. He swallowed it down with a swig of coke and went back to poking at his pancakes with his fork.

'You really care that much about Sarah?' John reached across the table and pulled Chuck's plate towards him. He swiped Chuck's knife and fork and quickly cut the pancakes into bite-sized pieces before pushing the plate back. 'Eat.'

'I'm not five, you know,' Chuck frowned, spearing another chunk of pancake.

'That'd be why you're playing with your food, then,' John said drily, going back to work on his own plateful.

'Hah, very funny.' They ate in silence for a couple of minutes before Chuck spoke again. 'I don't just mean Sarah, he explained, finally meeting the agent's eyes. 'It's Ellie thinking I'm never going to grow up and become a responsible adult. It's Morgan thinking he's a terrible friend when it's me who's never there for him. It's everyone having secrets, being agents and double agents. It's not being able to trust anyone ever because even the pitta girl is out to get me. It's Jill and finally doing something right, being a good spy, getting the girl, only she turns out to have been Fulcrum all along. I'm starting to doubt everyone, even me.'

He sighed, took a sip of his drink. 'At least you're you. Sarah's not Sarah, and no matter how I feel about her, that won't change. We can't ever have a normal life, a normal relationship, because even if I manage to get the Intersect out of my head, I'll still have been the Intersect and she'll still be a spy who can't even tell me her real name. We won't ever be together.'

They ate in silence again for another minute before Chuck spoke again.

'Even that's not it, not really. I guess it's the way that she could just disappear. Did disappear. And just for a moment there was a part of me that felt relieved that I wouldn't have to face living with her, that I could stop with this whole emotional rollercoaster ride.'

'But she came back again,' John pointed out. 'And she's not going anywhere. Neither am I.'

'Until your orders change,' Chuck responded. 'Or until there's a new Intersect. Or until I die. Or until you put me in a bunker. Or until you die. And I won't see you again, any of you, and I'll never know what's happened.'

'So that's it?' John leaned forwards. 'There are no guarantees for anyone, Chuck. Morgan could get knocked off that stupid bike of his on the way into work tomorrow. Hell, Big Mike's a candidate for a heart attack if ever I saw one and how no-one's murdered Jeff and Lester I don't know.'

The corners of Chuck's mouth twitched.

'No, you don't get to have a normal life, and we all get it that you didn't sign up for this. And Sarah and I have done our very best to keep you alive and in one piece and living as normal a life as possible. But in a normal life, love isn't a given. You find it if you're very lucky, and if you're even luckier, that person loves you back and stays with you, but before we came along, you weren't even trying to date. So don't blame us for all of your heartache.'

'Thank you so much for reminding me how pathetic my life was before you brought guns into it,' Chuck said sarcastically. 'I feel so much better now.'

'My point is, _Chuck_, most people don't get a happy-ever-after. At least you have two people in your life who are dedicated to you. Just you.'

'Yeah, right. You guys are here to protect the Intersect, I get that. And it's more than most people have, I get that too...'

John snorted in disgust. 'For a genius, you're such a moron. Listen to what I'm saying, idiot.'

Chuck frowned. 'You're saying I'm stupid.'

'Right now? Hell, yeah.' John scraped up the last scraps of pancake and popped them into hs mouth. He watched as Chuck stared down at his own plate, then around the restaurant, then back at the man sitting opposite him.

'Enlighten me,' Chuck said with a sigh. 'I'm obviously so stupid I just don't get it.'

'Sarah's life revolves around you. My life revolves around you. You think I'd take a damn computer for pancakes?'

'So you brought me out for pancakes because... you like me? You actually care about me?' Chuck's voice was full of disbelief.

'You called it.' John deftly forked up a piece of strawberry from Chuck's plate. 'I'm the one watching over you. I'm the one who hears all your bad dreams. I get to listen to you sighing and moping around. I save your ass day after day and I let you annoy the heck out of me without pounding you into sushi. So yeah, I care about you. Now, you have a choice. You can either wallow in self-pity and loneliness, or you can man up and take what Sarah and I have to offer. It might not be flowers and romance and holding hands, but it means something.' He paused, staring hard at the young man. 'It means a lot.'

Chuck blinked. 'Just so that I'm clear, what, what exactly is it that you're... offering?'

'Sarah cares about you. She'll even kiss you on occasion. She's tuned in to your emotional needs, and she does her best, but there's only so far she can go because otherwise she _will_ be reassigned. Her emotional attachment to you will always be suspect to our bosses. But everyone knows I'm a professional. I don't get attached. I don't have feelings.'

'You mean apart from anger and a really scary sense of humour?' One corner of Chuck's mouth quirked up in an almost-smile.

'All part of the reputation,' John admitted.

'But you do have feelings and you have grown attached?' Chuck asked. 'To me? Wow.' They sat in silence while he ate some of his pancake. 'Really? Because I thought you only liked really hot, scary lady-spies, not nerds. Male nerds. Me.'

'Yeah, well, you aren't getting flowers and if I'm holding your hand I'm checking for a pulse,' John grumbled.

'So... this would be a date?' Chuck asked and finished up his pancakes.

'You planning on putting out?'

Chuck laughed at the agent's leer. 'On a first date?'

John grinned and opened his mouth to say something, but the return of the waitress interrupted him. 'Just the check, please,' he said instead, pulling his wallet from his pocket.

Leaving the money on the table, the two men stood and walked back to the car. 'I'm not suspect, Chuck,' John said as they crossed the parking lot. 'I'm not Sarah, but I feel the same way about you she does, and if you want to sleep over, I won't just stick to my side of the bed in my pjs.'

Chuck was quiet until they reached the car, then, leaning against the door, he said, 'I never thought of you that way, John. I mean, you're a handsome man and I... I have noticed, but...'

'That's okay,' John said, opening his door.

'No! No, that's not it. I just, I... Tomorrow. Pancakes. If we aren't running for our lives yet again, you can take me for pancakes. Second date.' He smiled, hesitantly.

John nodded and Chuck's smile spread. 'Second date it is.'

...

After Chuck was safely back in his room, John switched on his tv. General Beckman stared at him.

'Well, Major?'

'Job done. He'll be okay,' the agent replied.

'I don't want to know the details, Major Casey. Just keep the asset happy by any means necessary.'

'Yes ma'am.'

The connection cut and John picked up his headphones and put them on. He could hear Chuck talking over the surveillance feed.

'I'm telling you, you can't have a wet sandwich filling in space! It'd float off and get caught in the air recycling systems. It'd be Apollo Thirteen with ranch dressing!'

Morgan's voice sounded tinny over Chuck's speakerphone. 'Dude, it has to be gloopy enough to stop breadcrumbs from going everywhere!'

John smiled. He was looking forward to tomorrow's pancakes.


	2. Chapter 2

'Chuck, my man! How do you feel about you, me, a pizza and a smokin' copy of Watchmen?' Morgan bounced excitedly in front of Chuck. 'Anna's going out with some of her old girlfriends, so I have a sofa with your name on it.'

'Tonight? Oh, I'm so sorry, Morgan, I can't. I have a... thing,' Chuck trailed off unhappily.

Morgan's face fell. 'A thing? What kind of a thing?'

'It's a... a date thing,' Chuck admitted.

'Oh, okay,' Morgan shrugged. 'I suppose you and Sarah have a lot to work through.'

'Work through?' Chuck frowned.

'Yeah, you know, with the whole moving in together. Okay, I understand, buddy. Maybe later in the week?' Morgan forced a smile.

'Maybe. I hope so. Thanks, Morgan,' Chuck said gratefully.

'If you finish early, you can always come on over,' Morgan said.

'That's good to know,' Chuck smiled and slapped Morgan on the shoulder. 'I'd better get back to work. Jeff's on phone duty.'

'I thought he was banned from answering the phone?' Morgan called after Chuck as he strolled back to the Nerd Herd desk.

'He is!'

Morgan wandered round the Buy More, killing time before his break. He was near the front doors when they swished open and a customer walked in.

'Hi Sarah.' Morgan raised a hand in greeting. 'So, big night tonight?'

'Excuse me?' Sarah tilted her head in puzzlement.

'You know, you and Chuck, pancakes, talking about living together...' Morgan trailed off. 'Forget I said anything!' He ran back to the Nerd Herd desk. Sarah followed at a more sedate pace.

'Chuck! You should have told me it was a surprise!' Morgan said dejectedly.

Chuck's attention was on fixing a mobile phone. 'Huh? What're you on about, Morgan?'

'Sarah! I spoiled your surprise! I'm so sorry!'

Chuck looked up, frowning, then caught sight of Sarah. 'Oh! Oh, right. Don't worry about it, Morgan. It's no biggie, just... pancakes.'

Sarah leaned over the desk and pressed a chaste kiss to Chuck's lips. 'Hi there,' she smiled.

'How's my girl?' Chuck asked. 'Everything okay?'

'Everything's fine. I just thought I'd come and say hi before I go start my shift. So, Morgan mentioned something about pancakes?'

'He did...' Chuck forced an answering smile. 'Morgan, I need a word with Sarah alone.'

'Sure thing, buddy. It's time for my break, anyway.' Morgan headed for the break room.

'So?' Sarah asked.

'Morgan wanted to hook up this evening, but I have a thing arranged,' Chuck explained awkwardly. 'It's, uh... I'm going for pancakes. Silly, really.'

'What time do you want me to pick you up?'

'It's... it's with Casey.'

'Oh!' Sarah pulled back, blinking in surprise.

'It's just some guy-time,' Chuck said lamely. 'That's all. But Morgan got the wrong idea, so...'

'That's okay.' Sarah forced a smile. 'I can cover for you. I - I'd better go or I'll be late.' She kissed Chuck again, then turned and strolled rapidly out of the store.

#

'What's going on?' Sarah stormed down the stairs into Castle.

John glanced up from the bank of monitors. 'Nothing so far today. Why? Did Chuck flash?'

'I'm talking about you and Chuck going out for pancakes.' Sarah stopped beside John's chair. 'What are you up to?'

'The kid needed cheering up. You know how annoying he is when he mopes around. Gets on my nerves.'

'So you decided to take him out for pancakes?' Sarah asked, incredulous.

John shrugged. 'Seemed to work. Why, were you planning on cheering him up?' He flicked his eyes over Sarah's slim figure, injected a touch of insinuation into his tone.

Sarah bristled. 'What's that supposed to mean, Casey?'

'I just thought that since you seem to be objecting to me taking Chuck out for pancakes, you might have had other plans.'

Scowling, Sarah retreated to the stairs. 'I don't know what you think you're up to, Casey, but don't play around with Chuck. He's had too much of that already.' She bounced up the stairs. 'He doesn't need you messing with him.'

John grunted, watching her go, then turned his attention back to the monitors. 'Maybe that's just what he does need,' he murmured.

#

Pancakes had to wait a couple of hours while Team Bartowski conducted surveillance on a suspected arms importer. When no flash was forthcoming and the antiques showroom which provided a front for the operation had shut down for the evening, they went back to Castle, leaving a couple of hidden cameras in case anyone came back later.

Sarah sighed and rolled her head, stretching her neck to one side then the other. 'That's my report done. Casey?'

'Yeah, two minutes and I'm done.'

Chuck looked up from the folder in front of him. 'Five minutes for me and how do you stand it being this boring? Really?'

Sarah smiled. 'Most of our work is actually very boring. Without an Intersect on tap, we get used to spending months gathering intelligence before we see any action at all.'

'She's right,' Casey grunted. 'This really isn't boring.'

'Wow, you guys have a high boredom threshold,' Chuck said, flipping through the remaining pages. He glanced up at the agents. 'I don't think I could do that.'

'You work at the Buy More,' John pointed out.

Chuck looked over at Casey, shrugged, grinned. 'You got me there.'

John smiled back. 'Yeah.'

After a moment, Sarah cleared her throat. 'I think I'm going to head home. I'll see you guys tomorrow.'

Chuck blinked, smiled. 'Okay, have a good night, Sarah.' He got up and hugged her more easily, releasing her more quickly than she remembered him doing before.

Casey nodded. 'Oh-eight-hundred. Night, Walker.'

Smiling, she jogged up the stairs, but her smile slipped just a touch as she glanced back at the two men below right before she passed through the door into Orange Orange.

'You done?'

The young man looked across at the agent, smile gone. 'Nearly.' He stared across at Casey.

'Better finish up,' the agent remarked softly. After a moment, Chuck bent his head to the file in front of him. A couple of minutes later, he closed the file and dropped it on the table in front of him with a sigh.

'Done.'

'Anything?' John asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Chuck shook his head. 'Not tonight, big guy. So, we done?'

John shrugged. 'I guess so. Come on.' He stood, picked up his jacket and waited while Chuck pulled on his own. Letting the younger man lead the way, he followed, making sure the base was locked down for the night.

Out in the balmy Californian twilight, they strolled in companionable silence through the parking lot towards Casey's car.

'You hungry?' the agent asked as he unlocked the car door.

One corner of Chuck's mouth quirked up in a half-smile. 'A little. I think I could be persuaded to grab a bite to eat. How about you, big guy?'

'Supper sounds good to me,' John grinned. 'IHoP?'

'Didn't they do a Tuscan chicken sandwich? It looked pretty tasty on the menu,' Chuck said easily, sliding into the passenger seat.

'IHoP it is, then,' John said and started the car.

#

Orders placed, the two men sat in silence in a different booth in a different IHoP from the previous day.

'You know, if this was a, a date, a regular date, I'd ask about your day, you could ask me about mine,' Chuck babbled, playing with his napkin, folding it into pseudo-origami shapes. 'But since we spend our days working together and doing secret spy stuff, I guess that wouldn't be so interesting.' He smiled nervously. 'And I'm a nerd and as far as I'm aware, you're not into sci-fi, or sandwiches, for that matter, so... Plus, you probably know more about me than I do...'

John's face eased, tension vanishing from around his eyes, his jawline, mouth widening just a fraction. Nothing close to an honest-to-goodness smile, but amusement nonetheless.

'You're worried about running out of things to talk about?' he asked. 'Chuck, in all the time I've known you, you've always had something to say.'

'Hah, yeah, I guess you're right. Still... It doesn't seem even a tiny bit awkward to you?' Chuck shifted uncomfortably.

John picked up his own napkin, began pressing neat, precise creases into the soft paper. 'Nope.'

'Really?' Chuck's tone was full of disbelief.

'It's pancakes, Chuck, not a candle-lit dinner for two. There's no carriage ride under the stars.'

'You could always open the sunroof on the way home.'

'I could,' John agreed. 'Here.' He handed Chuck a small origami figure. 'It's a crane.'

'Wow! I had no idea you could do that!' Chuck said, taking the bird and studying it.

John watched as the familiar tell-tale signs of a flash came over the young man, taking a sip of his coffee as he waited for Chuck to re-surface. 'Well?'

'That... that explains a lot.' Chuck frowned. 'Did you do that on purpose?'

'Gets around the 'I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you', doesn't it?' the agent grinned humourlessly.

'But how did you know that would trigger a flash?' Chuck persisted.

'I didn't. But it seemed likely. And I couldn't stand watching you mess with your napkin any longer. Besides...' John took back the crane, spreading the wings and making a couple of minor modifications before handing it back.

'Oh my god! You made a Bird of Prey!' Chuck gasped.

'A Klingon Bird of Prey,' John said with a smug grin. 'One thing, Chuck. Don't assume about me.'

'You like Star Trek?' Chuck beamed, the smile lighting him up.

'It has its moments,' John admitted.

Eyes shining, Chuck challenged, 'Kirk or Picard?'

'Kirk. But not the patented Kirk-karate-chop. That's just stupid.'

'What about the Vulcan death-grip?'

John shook his head. 'No such nerves. At least, not in humans. There's a point here, though-' He leaned forwards and pushed his thumb below and behind Chuck's ear.

'Ow!' Chuck jerked back, rubbing the spot.

'Keep a decent amount of pressure on there for ten seconds and you'll knock someone out for a while. Keep it up for too long and you'll kill them.' John explained helpfully.

'You know, there's such a thing as too much sharing,' Chuck complained, but he was still smiling.

#

Back in the courtyard outside their apartments, John halted beside the fountain. 'See? Pancakes aren't that difficult,' he said softly, eyes dropping to Chuck's mouth.

Chuck swallowed hard. 'I guess not.' He licked his lips nervously. 'What do... What are you...'

'Date etiquette?' John asked, taking a step closer. 'This.' He brushed a light kiss over Chuck's lips, then stepped back. 'Good night, Chuck.'

'Right.' Chuck blinked, fingers coming up automatically to touch his lips. 'Good night, John. I, uh, I'll see you in the morning.' He watched as the agent shut the door behind him. 'Right...'


	3. Chapter 3

'How'd it go?' Morgan bounced himself up onto the Nerd Herd countertop.

Chuck blinked. 'Hi, Morgan. Pop-Tarts for breakfast? You know you'll only end up shouting at Jeff and crying on Lester by lunchtime, right?'

'Yeah, yeah, I know. I was out of cheerios.' Morgan dismissed Chuck's concerns with a sugar-fuelled smile. 'So? You and Sarah work things out?'

'Oh, last night. Not so much, no.' Chuck leaned back in his chair and casually glanced around the store. Catching sight of a certain greenshirt busy lifting down a box containing a microwave oven, he swallowed and hastily looked away.

'Dude, why wouldn't you move in with her? You guys have been dating for what, nearly two years now!'

'It's... complicated.' Chuck sighed.

'You keep on saying that,' Morgan complained. 'But you never say why it's so complicated. You love her, right? And she's totally into you, not to mention she's incredibly hot. What's complicated about that?'

'I... There's more to relationships than Sarah being hot. Trust me. I mean, you and Anna, that's not just about how hot she is, right?' Chuck pointed out.

'I guess not, although she totally is.' Morgan smiled, looking round. 'See?' He pointed over to the DVD section, where Anna was flicking through the anime section, pointedly ignoring the three pimple-faced teenaged boys who were openly staring at her.

'Sarah's amazing,' Chuck said, leaning forwards again. 'She's an incredible person. I'm just not entirely sure we're quite right for each other. Or if we are, maybe it's not quite the right time.'

'If not Sarah, who else?' Morgan asked, blinking at his friend. 'Not Jill, not Lou... Unless you've got some new honey tucked away you haven't told me about, Sarah's it, man. You haven't, have you?' he added anxiously. 'Because you know you can always talk to me.'

Chuck glanced over at Casey, who was now by the cash registers, then back at Morgan. 'No, no other... honey.' He smiled wrily. 'You're right. Sarah's definitely the one. It's just cold feet, I guess. You know me, I'm not one for change.'

'I get it,' Morgan nodded. 'Your room at Ellie's is your safe space, your refuge. You don't know if sharing an apartment with Sarah will turn out to be your Dark Side Cave instead. But Chuck, the only way to find out for sure is to walk in there. Face your fear, Chuck. Defeat the Dark Side,' he counselled earnestly.

'What are you nerds jabbering about now?' a deep voice said from behind Chuck.

He jumped, turning so sharply that he nearly fell off the seat. 'Woah, hey John.' He flushed. 'Nothing much.'

'Nothing much?' Morgan said incredulously. 'Only Star Wars and the application of its principles and philosophy to everyday life.'

Casey grunted. 'I find force solves a lot of problems.' With a flash of a menacing grin, he slapped Chuck on the shoulder and strode off to intercept another customer.

Morgan stared after him. 'Did he just make a joke? A Star Wars joke?'

Chuck blinked. 'I think so.'

'That was weird. Very weird.' The bearded man shook his head. 'Maybe you should ask him if he had Pop-Tarts for breakfast.'

Chuck stared after the big man. 'Maybe I should. Oh, hey, thanks for the talk, Morgan.'

'No problem, buddy. For you, Doctor Morgan is always in.' He pushed himself off the counter. 'I'd better go look busy. Daddy's got rent to pay.' He strolled off towards Anna, leaving Chuck staring thoughtfully into space.

#

Lunch was frozen yoghurt over at Orange Orange and a chance to review the tapes from the hidden cameras at the antiques showroom. The most exciting part was where the cleaner had bumped a cabinet of glassware with the vacuum cleaner and, while the manager shouted and picked up each figurine to check for damage, managed to pocket a hundred-dollar diamond-and-ruby ring, looking contrite the whole time.

'Nice,' John grunted.

Chuck sighed. 'Not getting any more interesting,' he groaned, putting his feet up on the desk.

'Want me to make it more exciting?' John rumbled, shifting his chair sideways.

Chuck looked sideways at him, startled by how close the agent was. 'What are you- Oh!'

The big man caught him by the tie, pulling him in for a kiss. His lips were warm, firm, pressing insistently at Chuck's. Even as Chuck's mouth opened automatically, allowing John's tongue to slip inside with a dirty, agressive push, part of Chuck's brain was cataloging, analyzing, comparing. _Harder, scarier, rougher... Sexier...? Not that weirder..._ The other part was frozen in shock until with the sound of the door to Orange Orange opening, John was abruptly three feet away, flipping through surveillance feeds, leaving Chuck gaping in surprise.

'Isn't it time you guys went back to the Buy More?' Sarah asked, coming down the stairs.

'Mm,' John wrinkled his nose. 'Another afternoon selling consumer goods to morons. The sooner they all learn to shop over the internet, the better.'

Chuck licked his lips, swallowed, put his feet back on the floor. 'I, uh... Probably.' He kept his eyes on Sarah, not daring to look over at John.

'What time are we heading out?' Sarah asked. 'Seven, from your apartment?'

'The antiques store closes at eight today. Might as well,' the agent agreed. 'Chuck?'

'Yeah, sure.' He smiled as normal a smile as possible. 'And dinner?'

Sarah replied. 'For our cover, we really should spend some time together. I'll pick up some sandwiches after my shift finishes. And we need to discuss details. About living together.'

Chuck's smile turned sickly. 'Yeah... We do...'

'Come on, Romeo,' John said. 'Can't be too late back.'

With a sigh, Chuck followed the agent up out of Castle and back to work. As they crossed the parking lot, he hissed, 'What was that? Sarah almost walked in on us!'

John grinned. 'Made it more exciting, didn't it?'

Chuck found to his chagrin he couldn't disagree.

Back in Castle, Sarah rewound the video feed, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. 'Oh, this isn't good,' she murmured. 'Not good at all.'

#

Sarah reached Casey's apartment a little before seven. The door opened before she could knock. Stepping inside, she closed it behind her.

She stood in front of the doorway, hands clenched into fists. 'We need to talk.'

'Really.' John went back to checking through the weaponry and electronic equipment piled on the table. A monitor at the far end showed a split feed of Chuck's room, where the nerd was currently tying his shoelaces, and the courtyard outside Casey's door.

'I want to know how you're planning on cheering up Chuck.'

'Any means necessary,' John said, not looking up from checking a gun clip.

Sarah's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she spoke again. 'You're telling me you're under orders?'

The agent looked round in surprise. 'You thought the General would order you? After everything?'

'I...'

'It doesn't matter what the General wants for him - he just wants his family safe and the damn Intersect out of his head. Sarah, he's keeping intel from us. We're on the verge of losing him. And right now you're part of the problem.'

'What?' Sarah was aghast.

Eyes narrowing, John kept his voice low, but his words were sharp. 'You think it's fair on Chuck to move in with him? You're tearing him apart as it is. You think he'll be happy sharing an apartment with you? Seeing you every evening, spending all your free time together, then going off to separate bedrooms? That no-touch policy's burning a hole in his guts.'

'And you think it's all right to play with him? Seduce him?' Sarah's voice rose.

John snarled. 'It's more honest than what you've been doing to him, Walker! And if it makes his down-time a little more fun, that won't hurt either. Don't you dare get judgemental here.'

The knock at the door startled both of them into pulling out guns. With a glance at the monitor, John relaxed.

'It's Chuck. You want to let him in?' He busied himself with packing equipment and weapons into a holdall.

Sarah glared at him for a moment longer, then opened the door, forcing a smile.

'Hi, Chuck. Come on in.'

'Hi guys,' Chuck grinned. 'Ready to go hunt out the bad guys?'

'As always,' John said, flashing a quick smile of his own. 'Sarah?'

She hefted a bag. 'Got the sandwiches.'

'And I've got a whole new spy mix.' Chuck held up his iPod.

'That's just great,' John said, heading for the door. As he passed Chuck, the corners of his mouth twitched. 'Let's go.'

#

'I don't think we should move in together.'

Chuck and Sarah sat opposite each other in a nondescript noodle bar, a bowl of ramen in front of each of them.

Sarah pressed a napkin of ice to the bruise on her jaw and continued. 'I'm not sure it would be best for either of us.'

Chuck blinked. 'That wasn't what I thought you were going to say, I've got to admit. I kinda thought you'd want to keep a closer eye on me.' He pressed a napkin of his own to his knuckles. 'Ow. Who'd have thought antiques dealers knew how to fight like that?'

Sarah smiled. 'At least we intercepted the arms shipment and they're all in custody now.'

'Yeah. We made a good team tonight. The three of us, I mean.' Chuck's own smile reappeared.

Sarah's smile slipped a little. 'Yes, I suppose we did. So what were you going to say?'

'I, uh... Pretty much the same thing, actually,' Chuck confessed, sadness creeping into his eyes.

'At least that's settled.' Sarah sat back. 'Chuck, you know if there's anything you ever wanted to talk about, you can always talk to me, don't you?'

Chuck nodded. 'Thanks, Sarah. That means a lot.'

#

'Knock, knock.'

Chuck looked up from his comic. 'Oh hi, John. Coming in?'

'Just thought I'd let you know the General said thanks.' John perched sideways on the windowsill.

'She did?'

'Not in so many words, but she implied it. How's the hand?'

'Doing fine,' Chuck said, dropping his comic on the duvet and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. 'See?' He crossed to the window, holding his hand out for the agent to inspect.

John took it, gently spreading Chuck's fingers and turning his hand to catch the light. 'I guess so,' he said, voice dropping half an octave, and looked straight into Chuck's eyes.

The young man's breath caught. 'John...'

John leaned forwards, catching Chuck's mouth with his own and kissing him softly for a long moment, before breaking the kiss.

Chuck's eyes fluttered open. 'Uh... I'm not moving in with Sarah,' he said faintly, then cleared his throat. 'We, uh, we decided it wouldn't be good. For the best.' He stared at John's lips, unconsciously flicking a tongue over his own and swaying forwards.

John tugged Chuck forward a step and kissed him again, one hand going up to slide along the young man's jaw, cup the back of his neck, the other hand still holding Chuck's, fingers linking together as the kiss deepened.

Chuck's mouth opened on a low moan and John's tongue slid inside. As he pushed against Chuck's tongue, thrusting into Chuck's mouth again and again, the nerd's free hand reached blindly for the agent's shoulder; anything to help steady himself.

At last they broke the kiss, gulping in air, Chuck resting his forehead against John's, his hands on the older man's shoulders and John's arms around the young man's hips.

'Guh...'

'Yeah...'

Chuck squeezed John's shoulders briefly, then stepped back. 'Wow.'

'Sleep well, Chuck.' John's voice was low, rough. He got to his feet. 'And lock your window.' He waited until Chuck had done as he asked before going back to his apartment. For all of Team Bartowski, sleep was a while in coming.


	4. Chapter 4

John watched the video feed from the Buy More security cameras and frowned. He'd just finished prepping and checking the tranq gun when the big screen turned itself on.

'It would appear your assessment was correct, Major.' General Beckman looked more severe than ever, her mouth pulled down at the corners.

'I know my team, ma'am.' The agent's face was impassive.

'I don't have to tell you how utterly reckless I think this plan of yours is. If we lose now, we lose everything.'

Major Casey nodded. 'If anyone can pull this off, it's Bartowski.'

'And you, Major. We're tracking Agent Walker's car, and there are teams standing by to move in as soon as you give the word.'

'I'll be right behind them.' John moved to turn the screen off, paused as the General spoke.

'John? Good luck.'

He nodded and the screen went black. Picking up two holdalls full of weaponry, body armour and gadgetry, he strode up the stairs and out of Castle.

#

It was all over. Black Rock was permanently out of commission, Orion, aka Stephen Bartowski was in the SUV along with Chuck, and Major Casey was having a quiet word with his partner.

'Next time you decide to go off-grid, you might want to try trusting me.' Although his voice was low, his tone was biting. 'You almost handed Chuck to Fulcrum on a plate and got yourself killed. Did you really think I was going to let him be locked up in a bunker somewhere?'

Sarah stared at him. 'You agreed with the General! I couldn't do that to Chuck!'

John's lip curled. 'You're as bad as Bartowski! Think, Walker! Everything that happens in Castle is recorded and goes straight back to Washington! Everything! You're just lucky I had a plan.'

'You planned this?' She glared, hands balled into fists.

John snarled, leaned in, looming over the smaller agent. 'I knew for damn sure you'd go haring off with the asset. Fortunately, I managed to convince the General this was our best chance of recovering Orion, so you aren't heading back to Langley in disgrace. But if you ever pull anything like that again, I will take immense pleasure in hunting you down and handing you over. We're supposed to be partners, Sarah!'

Sarah flushed. 'I did what I thought was best for Chuck.'

'Yeah.' John snorted in disgust. 'Next time you get an idea about what's best for Chuck, you run it past me. Try using some of that CIA training and communicate, for once!' John turned abruptly and headed for the SUV, his anger evident in the rigid set of his shoulders.

Sarah stared after him, looking small and fragile and more than a little lost, then trailed after him, heading to her own car for the long drive back to Burbank.

#

John climbed into the SUV and shut the door a little more forcefully than was needed. Chuck opened his eyes and looked across at the big man with eyes dark from more than fatigue.

'I'm sorry, John.' There was real regret in his voice.

'Leave it, Bartowski.' The agent started the engine and pulled out onto the road without once glancing across at the young man.

'I didn't trust you and you have every right to be mad at me, but I just wanted to get my dad back.'

'I said leave it,' John growled, jaw clenching.

'I didn't mean to-' he broke off as his dad leaned forwards and put a hand on his arm.

'I think maybe you should let him drive, son,' Stephen said gently. The rest of the drive was made in silence.

#

Back at Castle, the two agents and the Bartowskis stood side by side in front of the screen.

'Mister Bartowski, I'm extremely relieved to see you out of Fulcrum's hands,' General Beckman said with a very small smile.

'I'm grateful, but I hope you'll understand if I'm not entirely happy with being here,' Stephen said.

'General, does this mean that Chuck isn't being transferred?' Sarah asked.

The General regarded the CIA agent with an icy stare. After a pause, she said, 'No, Agent Walker. The asset will remain here for now.'

Chuck let out a sigh of relief.

'And by here, I mean here as in at Castle, at least overnight while the agents at Black Rock finish up,' the General added. 'Major, I want you to stay with the Bartowskis. I'll let you know when they can go home. And both of you, I want your reports on my desk by tomorrow morning.' She cut the connection and the screen went black.

Chuck turned to his father. 'Hey, the cots here aren't so uncomfortable. And maybe we can get pizza.'

'Already ordered,' Sarah said. 'I'll have to go pick it up in a minute.' As the three men turned to look at her, she shrugged. 'What? You can't get pizza delivered to a secret spy base.'

'I guess not,' Chuck pulled out a chair and sat down. 'Might as well make ourselves comfortable.'

As the Bartowskis settled in and Sarah headed out to pick up dinner, John busied himself checking and putting away the equipment he'd taken out earlier that day. When he'd finished, a small pile of guns remained to be cleaned.

'Here, let me help.' Chuck held his hands out. 'It's the least I can do.'

John's eyes narrowed. 'You know how to clean a gun?'

'No... But you could always show me.' Chuck wore a faint, hopeful expression that made the big man scowl. 'Please, John. Let me help.'

John growled, slapped a couple of guns into Chuck's hands and scooped up the other three. He headed for the armoury, paused in the doorway, and looked over at Stephen. 'You. Don't you touch anything unless it comes in a pizza box, or I will handcuff you and put you in a holding cell.'

'He means it,' Chuck confirmed.

His father leaned back. 'In that case, I'll make sure I don't touch anything,' he said mildly. 'Got any good books down here?'

John's lips twitched. 'Second drawer on the right. There's a Lawrence Block novel under the requisition forms.'

'Thanks.'

In the armoury, John laid out the guns, then took out a couple of cleaning kits. In silence, the young man watched his hands deftly take apart one of the weapons and then, awkwardly, copied him.

'I should have trusted you,' Chuck said at last, breaking the silence. 'I shouldn't have gone off with Sarah, but-'

'Damn right you shouldn't have!' John scowled at the barrel he was holding. 'You're lucky I didn't shoot you.'

'I had to get my father back,' Chuck said quietly. 'I didn't mean to leave you out, but I couldn't risk you stopping me.'

John snarled, hurt and anger evident on his face. 'You could have told me where they were moving your father before we even left the recruitment center! You could have mentioned your flash! But you didn't! What did you think you were going to do, Chuck? Drive up there and storm the base all by yourself? If you had said something, anything, we'd have had teams out on the road to intercept your dad before he ever reached it. We could have picked him up a lot more easily and with a lot less danger to him and to you!'

Shaken, Chuck stared at the big man. 'I, I didn't think. I stopped trusting you and I was stupid. John, I'm so, so sorry.'

John grunted. 'Yeah, well, it's going to take more than that for me to start trusting you again.' He slapped the gun barrel down on the table and reached for the next one.

With a look of desperation, Chuck dropped the gun part and cloth onto the table and stepped forwards.

'What the-?' Reflexively, John grabbed him by the upper arms, but the young man reached up as far as he could, pressing forwards until he had the agent pinned against the wall, was kissing him with all the pent-up frustration and anger and fear of what had been an incredibly long and terrifying day.

John let go of Chuck's biceps, wrapped his arms tightly around the nerd's not-so-skinny frame and kissed him back, letting Chuck's tongue plunge into his mouth before pushing back aggressively with his own. Chuck's hands came up to frame the agent's face, cup the back of his neck, pull him even closer. He made a whimpering sound as John's arms tightened around him that sent a bolt of heat to the big man's groin, and John growled, sending a shiver through the nerd.

'Sarah! That was quick!'

Stephen's voice rang loudly through Castle and Chuck broke off the kiss with a laugh that was half-sob. For a moment, he pressed his cheek against the stunned agent's own, then he stepped back again, hands shaking as he turned and picked up a gun part at random.

'So, uh... Pizza first, or shall we finish up here?' Chuck's voice was high, with the barest edge of hysteria in his tone.

John licked his lips, cleared his throat, but when he spoke, his voice was low and unsteady. 'You go have pizza. I'll finish up. It shouldn't take long.'

Chuck regarded him steadily for a moment before nodding and putting the piece back down. 'Okay.' He left the armoury and John could hear him chatting with Sarah and his dad.

Taking a deep breath to steady his hands, John went back to work.

#

Pizza delivered, Sarah let Stephen talk her into staying at the base long enough to eat her share, but insisted on going back to her place to shower and write her report for the General. By the time John emerged from the armoury and sat down next to Chuck, she was gathering her laptop, ready to go.

'I'll be back with breakfast around eight.' She spoke to the other agent, her mask of professionalism not quite covering her tiredness nor the shadows in her eyes that hinted of sadness.

John didn't quite nod. 'Sure.'

'See you tomorrow, Sarah,' Chuck said softly. He didn't get up, but he watched as she mounted the stairs.

Stephen reached for another slice of pizza, glancing quizzically from his son to his son's handler and back again.

'What?' John asked, opening the last pizza box and pulling out a slice. 'Book not gripping you?'

'No, no, nothing like that.' With an easy smile, Stephen leaned back in his chair. 'I'm just thinking, trying to figure things out.'

'What kind of things?' Chuck asked, interested despite his fatigue. 'How to fix the second Intersect?'

'Hah! No, although I think I have that figured out, just a question of recalibrating some of the hardware to take account of a slightly different chip geometry, but no, that wasn't it.' Stephen smiled at his son, then his smile faded, became a puzzled frown. 'I missed you. I missed ten whole years of your life. I missed talking with you about dating, girls, guys... You and Sarah, you're very good together. You look good together, mostly.'

John swallowed thickly, forcing the pizza down with difficulty. 'Anyone want a drink?' he asked, fighting to keep a frown off his own face. Chuck's head was tilted slightly, attention focused on his father. Neither Bartowski answered.

'But...' Stephen let the sentence slip away, studying his son's face.

'But?' Chuck prompted, one hand laid casually on the desk, the other inadventently gripping his chair's armrest, the white knuckles betraying his tension.

'But... I know I'm a little crazy. Some of it's an act, keep anyone from wanting to get closer, dig any deeper. You and Sarah, you have the same kind of an act going, don't you.' It wasn't a question.

'Well, yeah,' Chuck said awkwardly. 'Sarah's my handler, and the whole girlfriend thing is just her cover. Where's this going, Dad?'

'Oh, sorry.' Stephen smiled again. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to be cryptic or rambling, but there are things I see and sometimes connections get made and that's kind of one of the bases for the algorithms I used, but that's not what I was going to say, it's just-'

'Still rambling, Dad...' Chuck said, face contorting from puzzled into a pained smile.

Stephen's eyebrows raised, then lowered, the mannerism exactly that inherited by his son. 'I never thought I'd be having this talk, that's all.' He looked squarely at John, then back at Chuck. 'Charles, I guess I'm trying to say that it's okay. I'm okay with it.'

'With what?' Chuck's patience was on the verge of fraying altogether.

His father smiled. 'You and John. Just...' he looked back to the NSA agent, whose cheekbones were definitely _not_ flushing a dull red. 'Be kind to my son, John. He deserves a lot better than he's been handed in this lifetime. I know you're here to protect him. I'd appreciate it if you didn't break his heart in the process.' He looked from one man to the other, then picked up the book he'd been reading. 'I think if you don't mind, I'll go lie down, maybe get some sleep. It's been a long day.' He got to his feet, looked around the room.

John rubbed a hand over his tired eyes, then pushed himself to his feet too. 'Cots are this way,' he said gruffly, jerking his head towards a door.

Chuck stared in horrified fascination as his father followed the tall man back into the depths of the underground base, then buried his face in his hands. Seconds later, John returned, paused beside Chuck, put a heavy hand on his shoulder.

Voice muffled, Chuck said, 'I can't believe my father gave us the Talk! Oh my god!' He dropped his hands, stared up at John, mouth agape with embarrassment.

'Hey, I haven't had one of those since I picked up my date for senior prom,' John said, looking almost as embarrassed as the young man.

'We haven't even... we aren't-' Chuck blinked. 'It's just... wow.'

John grabbed his arms, pulled him to his feet. 'Come on, Chuck. You need to get some sleep.'

'After that?' Chuck's eyes were wide with disbelief.

'Yeah, after that. You can deal with it in the morning.' John put one hand on Chuck's shoulder and steered him back towards the same doorway and down the corridor. The door to one of the tiny sleeping quarters was shut; John guided Chuck into the other, pushed down on that shoulder to get the nerd to sit on the cot.

Blinking, Chuck took in his surroundings. The room was tiny, with just enough room for a small sink in the corner, a fold-down chair and, side by side, two standard-issue military cots. 'Are... are you sleeping in here?' he asked faintly.

John shrugged tiredly. 'I've got my report to write. Depends how long that'll take. I can get some sleep in the chair.'

Chuck's face set into its stubborn expression. 'That's not fair. Don't sleep out there on account of my freakout. When you've finished your report, come and crash in here.'

John's gaze tracked over Chuck's face, searching for a long, long moment, before he blew out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding. 'Okay, Chuck. Half an hour.'

'Or I'll come looking,' Chuck insisted, toeing off one canvas shoe and then the other.

'Yessir,' John snapped, but his voice lacked the sharp edge of sarcasm and Chuck relaxed enough to smile. The agent pushed aside his fatigue and reluctance and left Chuck alone to get ready for bed, forcing down his awareness that the young man would be lying there on the cot under a thin blanket, wearing a t-shirt and boxer shorts, waiting for him to return. Waiting for him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Note:** This part contains explicit m/m action, so if you're not okay with that, please don't read this part. It also contains some spoilers for 2.18-2.20. If you were waiting for Chuck/Casey, you'll probably like this. If you're waiting for Chuck/Sarah, this is not the chapter for you.

* * *

In the end, it took a while longer than half an hour for John to write up his report, but Chuck didn't come looking for him and the agent spent an unaccustomed five minutes sitting and staring into space wondering just what the hell he thought he was doing.

A quick check of the surveillance feeds to make sure Ellie and Devon were okay back at Casa Bartowski and that the Buy More remained uninvaded, another check of Castle's various alarms and locked doors and a quick visit to the head, and John couldn't put it off any longer. He dimmed the light in the corridor before pushing open the door to the sleeping quarters, but Chuck still had the light on, was lying on the furthest cot playing some inane game on his iPhone with the sound turned way down.

'Hey,' the young man offered without looking up. 'All done?'

'Yeah.' John tore his eyes from the young man's slim form and turned to close the door. Facing it, he unbuckled his belt and popped the button on his combats, sliding them down until they caught on his boots. He was hyper-aware of the drop into silence as Chuck shut off the game, the rustle as he slid the phone under his pillow. Perching on the edge of the empty cot, John wrestled with his bootlaces, managing at last to get them undone with fingers that felt awkwardly thick and undextrous. He kept his back to the nerd as he slid his trousers the rest of the way off, folded them, reached over to place them carefully on the seat of the folding chair. His socks he pulled off and stuffed in the appropriate boot, making sure his boots were neatly lined up by the side of the cot, exactly where he could find them in the dark in a hurry if he needed to, if there was some kind of emergency. Then he sat there for a minute more, staring at the doorhandle in front of him.

It occurred to him that he was avoiding turning around.

'Are you okay?' Chuck asked softly.

John turned. Chuck was lying on his side, watching him with large, dark eyes that were shadowed with fatigue. His expressive, mobile mouth was pensive.

'Fine,' the agent said. 'Long day.' He looked at the young man, who wasn't nearly as young now as he'd been before he'd had the Intersect dropped into his head and had his life turned upside down and almost ended.

'I'm sorry,' Chuck said. 'Thank you. I don't think I say that enough, not to you. Thank you for rescuing my dad. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for keeping the country safe for another day. It means a lot to me. You... you mean a lot. To me.'

His voice was little more than a whisper, low, tired. Full of emotion that John couldn't identify. It tugged at something buried deep inside the agent, something that twisted, ached, and suddenly he was exhausted. He felt worse than when he'd been up fifty hours being chased by the Taliban across endless, waterless Afghani mountain slopes.

'All part of the job,' John croaked. It was too much, standing to kill the light was too much, but somehow he managed to lean forwards, brace his feet for long enough to lunge up, slap the light and sag back down onto his cot. In the dark, he fumbled with the blanket, summoned one last burst of willpower to lift his legs up, over the side, and then he was down, aching in every muscle, every joint, wondering if he'd been poisoned, wondering if that had been Sarah's plan all along, but no, he knew poison and this was worse by far, more deadly, more toxic. His throat closed, sharply, keeping back the groan which echoed through his head, around his chest.

This was love.

'John?' Chuck asked, voice coming from a point just inches from the agent's ear.

'What?'

'What is it that you're doing? That we're doing?'

'Going to sleep.'

Even through the pitch-darkness of the room, John could feel the quick smile that flashed across Chuck's face, warming his voice.

'No, not that. Well, yes, obviously. But... why, why did you make that offer to me? You're military. You're straight. You don't even like me all that much.'

John sighed, too exhausted to summon his training to protect himself, to tell the young man what he wanted to hear. It was taking all his energy just to breathe; at this point, lying was beyond his capabilities.

'Because. You annoy the hell out of me. You're too close, too much. If I thought shooting you would stop it, would get you out of me, I'd have done it already. But you wormed your way in.' He found himself breathing heavily, as though he'd been running hard, as though there wasn't enough oxygen in the room.

There was a pause, the silence of Chuck's brow wrinkling as he tried to puzzle it out, a tiny gasp, more a hitch as he caught on. 'I was right.'

'Yeah.'

There was silence for a while. It figured that this was one time he wasn't up for babbling. Then a rustle: Chuck moving under the blanket. A hand brushing against his arm, coming to rest on top of his own hand.

'I, uh... I don't know. Honestly. I need a little time to process this. I'm sorry, John.'

It was this apology, the one for not being in love, for simply not knowing, that got through, that made John ache. 'Sleep, Chuck,' he ground out, voice rough enough to abrade granite. 'Just... sleep.'

#

Half-waking in the night, too hot, too uncomfortable, too restricted, John found he was lying on his side facing the door, back somehow at the edge of his cot and Chuck's long limbs thrown over him, wrapped around him, along with more blanket, breath warm against his neck. It was just company, human company, nothing to get alarmed about, nothing to wake up any further for, although he hadn't had overnight company in years. He slept.

He woke again just before seven, on his back this time and one arm half-numb from where it lay over the edge of his cot, of Chuck's, the young man pillowing his cheek on the bicep, cuddling the forearm. One of Chuck's legs rested over John's thigh, rested between his legs. The room was still dark, the only sounds being their breathing and the faint hiss of the air recyclers from somewhere overhead. He should move, get up, make a start on the day.

He stayed where he was until a change in Chuck's breathing told him the young man was starting to wake up. With his free hand, he reached across, up, until he felt curls under his palm. He stroked them gently for a minute before Chuck huffed, buried his face under John's arm, wriggled, woke.

John waited for the morning tide of words to break off Chuck's tongue, but the nerd stayed quiet. Chuck pulled back a fraction; John could feel him blinking against his arm, against his skin. Then Chuck tilted his chin up until he could rest it against the agent's shoulder. Took hold of John's hand. Squeezed. Slid towards the big man, over him, turning until he was lying half across his body, until his thigh brushed over John's morning wood, until his own was pressed against John's hip.

'Chuck...' John whispered. It came out as a plea, a groan.

'Ssh,' Chuck said, lips touching John's ear and sending a shiver through the agent. He placed a delicate kiss on the edge of John's ear, cheek, followed cheekbone to nose, to chin, to jawbone, to the sensitive patch of skin at John's neck, right underneath his ear. John closed his eyes as the young man made his way back around the jawline, kissed down his neck, paused as those lips encountered the realities of morning stubble and adam's apple, then kissed around to John's other ear. In the dark and the quiet, Chuck learned the contours of John's face with his lips, fluttering kisses across those closed eyes, across his forehead before finally coming home to the one part of that face they knew by touch already. Chuck kissed John lightly, tongue flicking out to tease the big man's lips before a hint of pressure had them sliding open.

Chuck dipped inside, tasting, teasing, flicking at John's teeth, his tongue, before finally - finally - plunging deep into the older man's mouth. With a groan, John wrapped his free arm around Chuck's shoulders, kissing back with an intensity that made Chuck shiver and press himself as close to John as he could get. He rubbed his groin against John's hip, thigh moving over the older man's achingly hard erection, then broke away with a whimper.

'I don't... God! I can't - I don't know what I'm doing here, John,' he admitted in a voice filled with frustration. 'I want to- but I don't know if I can, with...'

John's smile curved against Chuck's mouth as the agent pulled him back down. 'Passed that class, Chuck. Let me.' Kissing him again, he thrust into Chuck's mouth, setting a rhythm, following with his hips, rocking up against the young man, holding him tightly.

Chuck moaned, pushing himself down on top of the older man, instinctively seeking more contact, more pressure, more friction. John freed his trapped arm enough to turn his hand, cup Chuck's balls through his boxer shorts. After Chuck's jerk of surprise, he let the young man rub down against his hand, easing him back into the rhythm. Feeling him grow harder again, he slid his free arm down Chuck's back, over the curve of his cheeks, held him there, helped him move. As Chuck's breathing grew more ragged and whimpers escaped his throat, John snaked his hand through the fly of his boxers, found Chuck's pens and gripped expertly, letting him thrust into the sheath of his hand. With a choked cry, Chuck came, spurting through the agent's fist and soaking his shorts. He shuddered, spasming again as the older man squeezed him gently, rubbed his thumb over the head, soaked up his whimpers with his mouth and swept his tongue comfortingly over Chuck's own.

Chuck's breath hiccupped in little stuttering gasps as John milked the last of his orgasm out, leaving the young man sprawled bonelessly over John's solid body. John eased his hand out of Chuck's boxer shorts and round to the side, gripping his hip comfortingly, waiting for the young man to recover. Chuck rested his head on John's shoulder, breathing shakily through his mouth, breath puffing across John's throat.

'That's it,' John murmured. 'That's all it is.'

Chuck swallowed, blinked, lashes fluttering once more against John's bare skin. 'Wow. Definitely passed.'

John's huff of amusement was lost in Chuck's unruly hair, but the agent could feel him smiling. 'Have to get up soon,' he rumbled lazily, a smile of his own blooming at Chuck's disgusted groan. 'I mean it.' He squeezed Chuck's ass-cheek, rubbing with his thumb. 'Much as I'd rather stay here like this with you, I have a briefing in an hour and I definitely want to get through the shower before Sarah gets here.'

'Mmph,' Chuck pressed closer, soaking up the agent's warmth. 'Lock the door.'

'She has lockpicks.'

Chuck groaned again, shifting position slightly, then stilled. 'You didn't, uh... You didn't finish.'

'Not yet, no.'

'I, um... I could... Help?' Chuck offered, awkwardness creeping back into his voice as tension crept into his body.

'If you want to, sure. If you don't want to go that far, I can live with it,' John said, tone as casual as he could make it.'

'I, I, I think I could. Help, that is.' Chuck moved his hand from John's shoulder, ran it down over the older man's impressive pecs, abs and under the blanket, pausing as he reached John's waistband.

'You don't have to,' John said, hugging Chuck. 'Honestly. I'll live.'

'If we do this, then we do this together,' Chuck said bravely. 'I don't have a lot of experience; well, any experience with this, but we're not so different, right?'

John turned his head, placed a light kiss on Chuck's forehead. 'If you want to, explore. I'll let you know how you're doing.'

Chuck nodded, took a deep breath and ran his hand over John's erection.

'It's, uh... big. Impressive,' he babbled nervously, stroking up and down slowly, lightly, outlining it through the thin cotton with his long fingers.

John's hand tightened on his hip. 'That's good, Chuck.' Growing bolder, Chuck stroked downwards, cupped John like John had cupped him. The agent twitched. 'That too.' Chuck rubbed his thumb over the base of John's penis, rubbed a little harder, making it jump. Stroking upwards again, he squeezed the shaft gently, circled the palm of his hand over the head and glans.

'Yeah...' John managed, struggling not to thrust up into Chuck's hand.

'This should be weirder,' Chuck said absently, resting his face in the hollow of John's neck, tracing the waistline of the boxers with one delicate fingertip, dipping underneath and swirling through the hair underneath. His voice was low, hypnotic. 'I mean, I'm a guy, you're a guy...' His fingers brushed the tip of John's aching dick, making John's breath catch in his throat. 'I'm straight, so are you...' Gently, his fingers smoothed down over the shaft, then wrapped around it, fitting perfectly around the solid velvet width. 'But you're driving me crazy.' His hand started to move up and down, slowly, then faster. 'I can't stop thinking about you, wondering about what you're like when you're not being a hard-assed super-agent.' His thumb brushed up over the head, then back down again. 'Wondering what it'd be like to go to bed with you. Wondering what it'll be like to have you lying on top of me, wondering how it'll feel when-.' He twisted his hand, fingers rubbing over the sensitive glans, and with a cry he couldn't suppress, John came, pulsing hard.

Chuck held him until he softened, then slipped his hand out from the agent's shorts. John could feel his nose wrinkle.

'What?' he rasped unsteadily.

'It's sticky. I never like getting sticky hands.'

John laughed, found coordination long enough to move his arm, grab Chuck's hand and wipe it on his boxers. 'Not like they're getting any cleaner,' he smiled.

'I guess not.' Chuck snuggled contentedly, tucking his head under John's chin.

'Hey, don't think you can go back to sleep!'

'Ten minutes...' Chuck's voice trailed off. John held him close for a moment, then swatted Chuck's behind.

'Ow!'

'Shower, Chuck.'

With a deep sigh of unmendably hurt feelings, Chuck rolled off the big man and all the way back onto his own cot. John stretched, sat up, slapped the light switch and looked round at the blinking nerd. He smiled affectionately as he took in Chuck's wild bed-hair, the way his t-shirt was rucked up across his stomach and the damp patch on the front of his boxer shorts.

'Laugh it up, big guy,' Chuck smiled back, propping himself up on one elbow. 'You look how I feel.'

John didn't have to look at himself to know he was in an identical state. He just hoped he wasn't glowing quite as much as Chuck was, especially with faint red stubble-burn around his mouth. Schooling his expression into a frown, he growled. 'On your feet, Bartowski.'

Chuck laughed. 'Oh, so not intimidating.'

John settled for grabbing his trousers and pulling them on, leaving the fly unfastened, then shoved his feet into his boots and opened the door. Without looking back at the nerd, he tossed words over his shoulder. 'Move quick, or you'll have to scrub your own back.'

As he headed down the corridor, he heard Chuck scramble for the door and smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

**Note:** HERE BE SPOILERS FOR 2.21! In case you were wondering how this stacks up against the entirety of 2.21, there's a note at the bottom of this chapter. It also contains spoilers for 2.21. I know this part is short, but the next part is written and will be up over the next couple of days.

* * *

Breakfast was odd, to say the least. Sarah brought a selection of pastries, some fruit, coffee and spent the time reviewing both her own report and John's before sending them to General Beckman. The NSA agent ate sparingly, did his own share of reviewing reports, but Chuck, buzzing with endorphins, sugar and caffeine, couldn't settle, flicking from game to game on his iPhone. Every time he glanced up, he caught one of the others just looking away.

It was a relief when the big screen flashed on to show the General. Immaculate, as always, and sharp as ever, there was still an air of fatigue about her that she couldn't quite conceal.

'Long night, General?' Chuck asked, then froze as his brain caught up with his mouth.

She regarded him icily for a moment before turning her attention to the two agents. 'Agent Walker, Major Casey.'

'Ma'am,' John acknowledged.

'Operations are still under way at Barstow. I'd like the asset and his father to remain in Castle for another few hours until I'm certain there's no further threat to either of them.'

'But I'm supposed to be in work in twenty minutes,' Chuck protested.

'I'm afraid you'll just have to call in sick. I'm sure you can come up with some excuse. Now, I have read both your reports and in light of the positive outcome, Agent Walker, I am inclined to overlook your breach of protocol, but if it happens again I will not hesitate to send you back to Langley. You are not, however, to retain your cover as Chuck's girlfriend. The ongoing psychiatric evaluation of the asset suggests that this is causing him undue stress. Effective immediately, you are to break up but remain good friends. Is that clear?'

'What ongoing psychiatric evaluation?' Chuck asked. 'And hey, don't I get a say in this?'

'No.' The agents and the General answered in unison. Chuck scowled.

Sarah stared at the big screen, her face automatically schooling itself to the professional mask that meant she was hurting. 'Yes, General. I'm part of Ellie Bartowski's wedding party tomorrow, though. I can't get out of that without causing suspicion.'

'There's also the rehearsal dinner. Tonight. Oh, crap,' Chuck's shoulders slumped. 'We'll be out of here before then, yes? Because otherwise Ellie is never going to forgive me.'

The General's face briefly softened. 'Current estimates are that you should be free to leave the Castle by mid-afternoon.' Her gaze flicked sideways to Chuck's father. 'Stephen, we'd like you to continue your work on the Intersect. Will that be a problem?'

Stephen shook his head. 'Not as long as I make it to my daughter's rehearsal dinner tonight and the wedding tomorrow.'

'That shouldn't be a problem.' General Beckman looked at each of them in turn. 'I don't have to tell you how close you came to handing Fulcrum everything they need to win this secret war. It's thanks to John Casey that you are all here, now. In recognition of your outstanding work, I would like to say thank you, Colonel Casey.'

A tight smile passed across the agent's face. 'Thank you, ma'am.'

The screen went black. Chuck blinked and turned to face John. 'Wow! A promotion!'

'Congratulations,' Sarah mustered. 'I have to go open the store. I'll be upstairs if you need anything.' She jogged up the stairs, very carefully not paying attention to the sounds of kissing behind her.

#

It was after six by the time the General gave them the all-clear to leave Castle. Chuck stopped off at the Buy More to pick up his car keys, finding a half-naked Morgan carrying Anna out of the store. He didn't have time to ask the hundred questions he had about just what the heck was going on, but his friend seemed happier than in quite a while, so, bemused, he grabbed his keys and left before an apparently enraged Emmett, or anyone else, had chance to corner him.

#

'Dad? Ready to go?' Chuck called, leaning over the handrail.

'Sure, son.' Stephen pushed back his chair and stood, just as an alarm went off.

'What, what's that?' Chuck asked nervously.

John tapped at the computer. 'Perimeter breach.'

Chuck ran down the stairs. 'Here?'

John shook his head. 'My apartment.' A video feed flashed up on the screen. It was Devon.

'Oh, god!' The three men dashed out of the Castle and into the parking lot. Stephen piled into the Nerd Herder with Chuck, John dived into his SUV and with a screech of tires, they peeled out onto the highway.

'Dad, I want you to wait in the car, just for a minute. Please,' Chuck begged, pulling in behind John's SUV.

Stephen looked at Chuck, nodded. 'Okay, Chuck. Go get 'em, tiger.'

Chuck grinned, popped his seatbelt, and was gone. Five seconds later, Sarah's black Porsche pulled in behind the Nerd Herder and the blonde sprinted into the courtyard, gun at the ready.

#

'Whoa, wait on, John!' Chuck called, bursting into the apartment.

'Hey, Chuck! Call the cops!' Devon called. 'This guy's a major-league stalker!'

'No, no, put the gun down,' Chuck babbled, coming up beside the angry agent and putting a hand on his arm. 'Please, John, let me handle this.'

'Chuck, what's going on? Sarah?'

Chuck looked over his shoulder. 'Hi, Sarah. Guys, please! There's no need for guns!'

Scowling, John lowered his weapon. Sarah nudged the door shut and did the same.

'Chuck! The cops!' Devon was still panicked.

'Devon, there's no point in calling the cops,' Chuck said slowly, stepping forwards. 'I... sort of am the cops. We are.'

'Chuck!' John hissed, but the young man ignored him.

'For the past eighteen months I've been a top CIA asset, and these guys are here to protect me.'

Devon stared.

'I couldn't tell you, I'm sorry. It's all top secret, and you can't know this, but I need you to know that John's not a stalker. The surveillance is for my protection. Our protection.

'And Sarah?' Devon's tone was high with disbelief. 'She's not your girlfriend?'

Chuck shook his head. 'No, that's just a cover. But John...' He took a deep breath. 'John's my boyfriend.'

Devon gaped at Chuck for a long moment, then slowly closed his mouth. 'Wow. That actually explains a lot.' He cast an appraising eye over the NSA agent.

'Devon, I need you to do something for me.' Chuck moved to stand right in front of his future brother-in-law. 'Can you do that?'

'I, I guess so,' Devon said uncertainly.

'I need you to cover for me with Ellie. Sort of like...'

'Don't say it!' John mouthed, but Chuck wasn't watching.

'Sort of like a mission. Can you do that? Can you be awesome for me?' Chuck stared at Devon, keeping his face open, neutral, calm. It worked.

'I - yes. Awesome, bro!' Devon clasped Chuck's arm. 'Awesome.'

'Okay, I'll be over in a few minutes. Can you keep Ellie calm? Don't tell her anything,' Chuck said.

'Sure, fine. No problem.' Dazed, Devon didn't register that Chuck was walking him to the door, but then he was out in the courtyard and the door was shut behind him. 'Wow.'

#

'What the hell was that?' Sarah demanded as soon as Chuck shut the door.

'Yeah, that's what I'd like to know, Chuck.' John frowned.

Chuck turned to face the agents, leaning back against the solid wood. 'Devon's a smart guy. Really smart. Once he has time to calm down, he'd have figured out that this isn't just a case of John being a crazy stalker. This is way too professional a setup for that. This way, at least he's on board and willing to help us. And this way he can help protect my sister from all of... this.' His arm wave encompassed John's mission board, maps, monitors. 'And besides, I'm going to need all the help I can get when Ellie finds out that you're my plus one for her wedding.' He smiled at the agent.

John rolled his eyes and went about resetting his alarm systems. 'Fine.'

'Sarah?'

The agent forced a smile. 'Fine, Chuck. We're going to have to report this, though.'

Chuck nodded. 'Make sure you both have time to get dressed up for tonight. It's going to be... interesting.' He grimaced. 'I'm going to go get Dad, talk with Ellie. I'll see you guys at seven thirty?'

The agents murmured agreement. and Chuck slipped back out into the courtyard. He strolled to the Nerd Herder, opened the door. 'You know, I didn't think you'd stay in the car,' he said, smiling.

'I thought about getting out, but. You know. Then I'd have to face Ellie on my own.' Stephen managed a little smile.

'Yeah, suddenly the car's looking a lot safer, huh? Come on, Dad.' Together the two men went to face the music.

* * *

**Note:** In this, the events of 2.21 happened over 1 day, not 2; Casey followed Sarah and Chuck straight up to Barstow; NSA teams stormed the base and recovered Stephen Bartowski and the not-quite-functional second Intersect. Chuck and Sarah didn't spend the night in a motel together; there was no airstrike. The events with Devon all happened pretty much as in 2.21. Morgan's still heading for Hawaii.


	7. Chapter 7

Ellie was freaking out. They had to leave to get to the wedding rehearsal in less than half an hour, and she was sitting in the living room on her own. No Devon, no Chuck, no Dad, no Sarah... She needed to cook, but she was all dressed up, blue dress picked especially to bring out the blue of her eyes. A touch of sophistication to go with her chignon, but short enough to be fun and flirty. Modest enough for a bride on the eve of her wedding. Only at this rate there wouldn't be anyone left to have a wedding with.

On the verge of screaming or pacing or, god forbid, crying, which would ruin her carefully-applied makeup, Ellie jumped as the door opened.

'Devon! Did you find Chuck?'

'Don't worry, babe.' Devon strode into the room and hugged her. 'He'll be here.'

'So you have seen him?' She searched his face as he hesitated.

'No! Yes... no...'

'What? Devon, it's simple. Did you speak to Chuck or not?' Of all the times for her fiance to come apart!

Devon took a deep breath, put his hands on her arms, stroked. 'Ellie, Chuck loves you. He'll be here. And no matter what, I'm not going to turn into your dad. I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here for you.'

Ellie sighed, tension leaving her shoulders. She could feel tears in her eyes. This was why she loved Devon. No matter what, he'd be there, comfortingly solid, reliable, dependable. The knot in her stomach eased.

'I love you, Devon,' she whispered, letting him fold her into a gentle hug.

The door swung open again.

'Where have you been?' Ellie scolded as Chuck stood nervously in the doorway. 'You didn't come home, you haven't been in work-'

'Don't freak out, Ellie!' her brother cautioned. 'I was getting your wedding present.' He stepped forwards, glanced over his shoulder, then moved fully into the living room. With a hopeful smile, he said, 'I found Dad.'

Behind him, Stephen raised a hand in a tentative wave. 'Hi, Ellie.'

#

Makeup repaired, excuses and hugs made and exchanged amongst rapid showers and hurried donning of suits, Ellie, Devon and Stephen left for the hotel. Chuck made his way across the courtyard and knocked on John's door. It opened immediately to reveal the stone-faced agent..

'Hi,' Chuck smiled. 'So... I was wondering... Would you like to come to my sister's wedding?'

The door slammed shut.

Chuck sighed, turned.

The door opened again and John stepped out, pulling on a suit jacket over his polo shirt. He smiled. 'Cigar?'

Chuck laughed. 'Thanks, John.'

'Hi.'

Both men turned. Sarah was standing in the entrance to the courtyard, wearing a stunning indigo dress.

'Wow.' Chuck blinked.

John put a hand on the young man's shoulder. 'Looking good, Walker.'

'Thank you, Casey.' She smiled hesitantly. 'So, who's driving?'

'Oh, not me!' Chuck raised his hands.

'I'll drive,' John said. 'Come on, or we'll be late.'

Together, Team Bartowski headed out.

#

The rehearsal went well, with more than enough laughter from a minister experienced in settling pre-wedding jitters to ensure that by the time the wedding party filed into a private room at the back of the hotel restaurant for the rehearsal dinner, everyone was relaxed and having a good time.

Devon kept giving Chuck, John and Sarah odd looks. And every time Chuck thought about the talk he had to have with Ellie, he felt sick. Sarah was at her effervescent best, though, charming the Woodcombes, distracting the ushers, and John was a solid presence at his shoulder. Ellie hadn't even blinked at his presence, welcoming him warmly as though she hadn't even considered he wouldn't be there.

Before Chuck could find a way to talk with his sister in private, the meal was over and they were bundling into cars and cabs, heading off to get a good night's sleep before tomorrow's hectic schedule. Sarah travelled with John and Chuck, sitting in silence in the back of the SUV as John handled the big vehicle expertly.

Back in the courtyard once more, they stood together awkwardly before Sarah broke the silence. 'Chuck, do you want me to talk with Ellie?'

Chuck shook his head. 'I'd better do it. Ellie's going to want to talk it through with you in the morning, though, so be prepared.'

Sarah nodded. 'No problem, Chuck. Just let me know what you tell her, so our cover's straight.' She walked away to her car, leaving the two men looking after her.

Chuck sighed. 'I'm really not looking forward to this.'

'Hey,' John put a hand on Chuck's shoulder. 'It's not the end of the world.'

'No, I guess compared with defusing bombs and getting shot at and foiling international arms deals and stopping Fulcrum from taking over the world, this isn't so bad.' He glanced down at his feet, shrugged, then looked back up at the tall man with a half-smile just about reaching his eyes. 'Oddly enough, though, I think I'd rather be running for my life again.'

John leaned in and kissed Chuck softly. 'You can always hide out at mine. Or if things get really bad, there's always the Castle.'

Chuck smiled. 'I guess so. If I scream like a girl, don't come running in with your gun out.'

'She loves you, Chuck. It'll be fine.'

'I guess... It's just... This is so new, you know? What we have. I hardly know how to describe it to myself, let alone to Ellie.'

'You want to wait 'til after the wedding?'

Chuck shook his head. 'For once, I'd like not to have to lie to Ellie about absolutely everything. It's exhausting.'

'You'll be fine.' John slapped Chuck on the shoulder. 'You know where I am if you need me.'

'Yeah, sitting in front of a monitor, watching me.' Chuck shrugged. 'At least I won't have to recap for you later.'

'Night, Chuck.'

'Night, John.'

Chuck went inside and shut the door, feeling John's eyes on him, watching those couple of yards to make sure he was home safely before he opened his own front door. A tingle went down his spine, and for a split second he was back in Castle, where in the dark and the quiet it had seemed so right, so natural, to lean over and kiss John, rub himself against that incredible body, let John touch him- He snapped back into the present before an inopportune erection made it even more difficult for him to talk to Ellie.

Ellie was lying on the couch, her legs across Devon's knees, head back against the cushions with her eyes closed. Devon pressed strong fingers into the arch of her foot.

'Oh, that feels good!' Ellie groaned. 'Why do pretty shoes have to be so uncomfortable?'

'The day they can make hiking boots with little straps and high heels is the day women officially rule the world.' Chuck dropped into a chair.

'Did you have a good evening?' Ellie asked, turning to face Chuck.

Chuck nodded. 'Yeah. It was great. You looked beautiful, and it was kind of emotional, seeing you and Devon and Dad. Speaking of...'

'He's grabbing a shower,' Devon said. 'Said the suit made him itchy.'

Chuck smiled. 'Yeah, I get that.' He tugged off his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. 'It wouldn't have been the same in jeans and a t-shirt, though.'

'You all look so handsome in your suits,' Ellie said wistfully. 'Men should dress up more often. Even John looked really good.'

'Again, speaking of...' Chuck began.

'I'm glad he was there. He's a nice man. I like having him as our neighbour.'

'Ellie, there's something I need to tell you.' Chuck sat forwards, eyes fixed on his sister's.

'What is it?' Ellie frowned. 'What's wrong, Chuck?'

'It's about me and Sarah.' He hesitated. Frowning, Ellie reached out and took Chuck's hand. He took a deep breath. 'Sarah and I split up again.'

'Oh, Chuck! Why? What happened?' Ellie's face was filled with concern. 'You guys seemed fine this evening!'

'We are fine, I think,' Chuck said, surprising himself. 'She dumped me this time. Because of John.'

'Wait - Sarah and _John_?' Ellie's voice rose in disbelief. 'She dumped you for John?'

'No! God, no. She didn't dump me _for_ John. She dumped me because _I_ like John.' Chuck held his breath.

'You like John,' Ellie repeated slowly. 'As in... Like, like?'

Chuck nodded. 'As in, boyfriend, like. Please, don't freak out, Ellie!'

Ellie squeezed his hand, opened and shut her mouth a couple of times. 'You and John. You're... seeing John. Dating him.'

'Yeah,' Chuck said softly.

'You're gay,' Ellie stated flatly. 'This is the night before my wedding and you're telling me you're gay.'

Chuck winced. 'Sucky timing, huh? And no, I don't think I'm gay. I guess it makes me bi. Actually, I'm not sure what it makes me, because I'm not attracted to other men. Always been the ladies. But now...' He blew out a sigh of frustration, ran his free hand through his hair. 'Ellie, it's John. And somehow he means enough to me that I want to be able to stand at your wedding with him. I don't want to have to pretend that things are fine with Sarah. And I know the timing is about as far from perfect as you can get. But can you just, I don't know... Can this be something you don't freak out over?'

Ellie stared at Chuck, then looked across to the hallway where their father was leaning against the doorway. Devon rubbed a comforting hand on her shin, but kept quiet.

She squeezed Chuck's hand. 'Okay.'

'Okay?'

'Yes, Chuck. It's okay. I can't promise I won't freak out after the wedding's over, but if you want John, if you love him, then yes, that's okay with me. He's a good man. He's practically family as much as Sarah is, anyway, and all I've ever wanted is for you to be happy. Chuck, I love you.' Ellie's smile was tremulous, her eyes a little teary, but her grip on Chuck's hand was firm.

Chuck swallowed the lump in his throat and managed a tremulous smile of his own. 'I love you too, Ellie.'

'You know, I think this calls for a group hug,' Devon said, prompting a laugh from Ellie. She slid her legs off her fiance and stood up.

Devon sighed in relief. 'Awesome! Group hug!' she smiled. Chuck got to his feet and hugged her. Stephen came into the room and hugged them both and Devon wrapped his arms around all of them. For the first time in years, Chuck felt safe, surrounded by all of his family.


	8. Chapter 8

Chuck's alarm went off. An arm emerged from under his duvet, flailed around and finally slapped the clock. He groaned.

'Time to get up!'

'Whu?' Chuck blinked; finally made out the outline of a figure seated on the windowsill. 'John?'

'Brought you coffee.' The big man's voice was warm with amusement. 'I thought you could use it.' He stepped into the room and sat on the bed.

Chuck pushed himself up, took the proffered mug and sipped. 'Oh! God, I love you.'

Beside him, John froze for a moment, then relaxed. 'You too, Chuck. So, what's the plan for today?'

'Um...' Chuck leaned his shoulder against John's. 'Pick up the tuxedos and the buttonholes around eleven. Make sure Devon doesn't skip town. Or Dad. Keep Ellie from freaking out. Be at the hotel by one.'

'In that case, you have time to come over to mine first,' John rumbled. He turned his head a fraction, inhaling the bed-warm scent.

'What's at yours?' Chuck asked sleepily, sipping at his coffee.

'Me.' John nuzzled Chuck's ear and the nerd's eyes widened. He huffed in surprise.

'Oh!'

'Mm. And a door that locks.'

Carefully, Chuck set the mug down on his bedside table, then turned to look at the agent. 'I suppose I have a half-hour free...' He let John kiss him, eyes fluttering closed as John's tongue plunged inside, chasing the taste of coffee. The sound of the bathroom door slamming pulled them apart, dark-eyed and panting.

'Move,' John rasped, standing and pulling the duvet off Chuck in one smooth motion.

Chuck paused long enough to pull on a pair of sweatpants, grab a change of clothes and stuff his feet into shoes, then followed the tall man through the window and across the courtyard into John's apartment. As he stepped through the doorway, John reached past him and shut it, pushing him back against the solid wood. Chuck's clean clothes dropped to the floor as his hands came up to frame John's face, fingers running through the short brown hair, pulling him closer as they kissed, devouring each other. Pinned to the door by John's bigger frame and supported by those large hands cupping his ass, Chuck wrapped one long leg around John's calves, rubbed his aching erection against John's, until with a grunt, John pulled back, away, wild-eyed, drawing a mewl of disappointment from somewhere deep in Chuck's throat.

'Not here!' John wrapped a hand around the back of Chuck's neck, pulling him away from the door and up the stairs, through a door, and there was a large bed that Chuck glimpsed and then he was lying on it with John on top of him, kissing him, tugging at his t-shirt, hands everywhere, brushing a nipple, sliding under his boxer shorts and Chuck couldn't breathe, couldn't think, as a hand closed around him, stroking until he was about to burst, about to come. Then strong fingers pinched at the base of his penis, held him implacably as he writhed, refusing to let him fall over the edge.

Chuck whimpered and opened his eyes to see John staring down at him, eyes darker than Chuck had ever seen them, glittering fiercely with possessive lust. Once John was sure Chuck wasn't about to come, he rolled off Chuck and stripped them both quickly, then grabbed a pillow, urging Chuck to lift his hips so he could place it under Chuck's ass.

Chuck could feel his nipples peaking in the cooler air now that John wasn't over him, blanketing him in solid, muscled heat. With the pillow under his hips, he felt wanton, exposed, but John didn't give him time for nervousness, urging his legs apart, lying between them, covering him chest to chest, groin to groin. Chuck flinched at the click of the cap of lube.

'What are you-'

'Ssh,' John murmured, nuzzling kisses over Chuck's swollen lips. 'Nothing like that.'

'Oh!' Chuck's eyes closed again as one slick hand engulfed them both, coating them in lube. He moaned again as John thrust gently, his penis sliding over Chuck's, balls brushing heavy over the base of Chuck's penis. Then John was kissing Chuck again, tongue thrusting in time with his hips and Chuck let sensation wash over him, feeling the tension build in him again, rising with each press of John's hips, each careful squeeze of his strong fingers, until he heard an unfamiliar cry break from his lips to be caught by John's mouth and he was coming, spilling over John's fingers, over his penis, dropping to his stomach, smearing between them. John thrust hard, sending aftershocks rippling through Chuck, and with a roar he came too, spurting between them, semen mixing, pooling on Chuck's belly. Chuck held onto John as they both shook and panted, until at last their breathing and racing hearts returned to something approaching normal and with a groan John rolled away and lay beside Chuck.

Chuck managed to get one hand over as far as John's arm. 'You melted my brain,' he complained affectionately. John grunted. 'You get to explain to the General why I can't flash on anything ever again.'

'You'd better not flash on anything today,' John grumbled. 'I can protect you from almost anything, but not your sister.'

'Yeah, she's pretty kick-ass,' Chuck agreed. He sighed, turned onto his side and, ignoring John's disgusted exclamation, plastered himself along the big man's side, coating his hip in cooled semen and lube.

'Ten minutes, Bartowski,' John warned.

'Mmph,' Chuck buried his face in the curve of John's neck. 'Or what?'

'Then I haul your ass into the shower or your sister will kill the both of us.' John wrapped an arm around Chuck's shoulder, holding him close.

'Mkay,' Chuck snuffled.

Twenty minutes later, the pounding on the front door woke them both.

The day passed in a blur of suits and flowers, tears and hysterics. Despite the General's assurances that Fulcrum was no longer any threat, John made Chuck wear his bullet-proof vest under his suit, and an ear bud and throat mike. Just in case. Sarah used all her hard-learned strategic skills to keep Devon's mother away from Ellie, which task was made significantly easier by a carefully timed kiss between John and Chuck. The final half an hour before the wedding saw Chuck with his future in-laws and a long lecture on making his mind up. They made it clear that personal choice was absolutely fine, but surely some day Chuck would want kids and Sarah probably wouldn't wait forever.

Chuck held his tongue, although John's caustic offer over the radio of, 'They'll never find the bodies. Just say the word,' was very tempting. But at long last, he was standing in the chapel beside Devon, with John watchful at his shoulder. Music started, the doors opened, and Ellie walked in, her hand on her father's arm. Chuck could see the point at which she very nearly turned and ran, away from the fuss and the overblown floral displays, but Stephen laid his hand gently over her white knuckles and she carried on up the aisle until she was standing in front of Devon. Then everything else melted away and all that mattered was the minister and Devon, the vows and the rings and the kiss.

John put a steadying hand on Chuck's shoulder as he watched his sister get married. Chuck swallowed around the lump in his throat, recovering himself to hand over the rings on cue. Applause greeted the first kiss of Devon and Ellie's married life, and rose petals showered over them as they left the chapel and made their way to the reception room. Team Bartowski trailed behind, not anxious to get into the rounds of handshakes and speeches that came next.

Three hours later, Ellie was having an extremely happy wedding reception. The food had been good, the first dance had gone well, and even the murmur of surprise which had rippled round the room when Chuck left Sarah half-way through the second dance to waltz with John hadn't been enough to kill her champagne buzz. Actually, now she had the opportunity to sit down and chase away the ache in her feet with another couple of glasses of champagne, Ellie had to admit that John was an awfully good dancer. Chuck wasn't terrible, either, and together they made a very striking couple.

Devon wrapped an arm around Ellie's shoulder and snuggled her close, dropping a kiss onto her immaculate curls. 'You okay, babe?'

'Mmm, yes,' Ellie sipped at her champagne. 'I'm glad we're married. Do you think they'll ever get married?'

'Who, John and Chuck?' Devon shrugged. 'Who knows? They're good now, though.'

'And so handsome! Look at them dance! I didn't know Chuck could dance,' Ellie smiled, a little lop-sidedly.

A wicked smirk flashed across Devon's face. 'Be right back, babe.' He was across the other side of the room before Ellie could blink, and, it seemed, back almost as quickly.

'What did you do?' Ellie hiccuped. 'You did something, didn't you!'

'Watch,' Devon said, hugging his wife close.

As the familiar strains of the tango rolled out, most of the couples still on the dance floor decided to take a break, leaving only the optimistic and the drunk behind. Chuck attempted to bolt, but John's hand shot out, faster than Ellie had ever seen anyone move, catching him in an unbreakable hold. Every eye turned to them as John tugged Chuck close, stalking around him with a predator's deadly grace. By the time John dipped Chuck for the last time, the room was beginning to empty for different reasons.

'Oh my god!' Ellie tilted her head and looked up at her husband. 'That's my brother! That's, that's... Sex! Out there! In front of everyone!'

'That's the tango,' Devon corrected, smugly wise. 'What say we go tango in the privacy of our honeymoon suite?'

'Yes! Great idea! Now!' Ellie demanded. They made a swift exit, breezing past the Woodcombes Senior, past Chuck and John who were still looking dazed, waving a very quick goodbye from the doorway, and just like that, the party was over.

Chuck came to his senses as John propelled him out of the elevator and down a long corridor. 'Where are we going?'

'Got us a room,' John said, stopping in front of a door. He opened it with a swipe of a keycard, checked the room for signs of hidden enemies, then dragged Chuck inside.

'Why, why-' Chuck's stammering question was cut off abruptly by John's mouth descending over his own in a bruising kiss. As John tore open his shirt, Chuck broke the kiss, gasping. 'Oh!' He dived back in to fasten on John's mouth again, more biting than kissing as John tugged his shirt off and set to work on the bullet-proof vest underneath. Chuck wrestled with John's jacket until the agent backed off long enough to let it fall to the floor, then he was back, pressing Chuck to the door. Seconds later, Chuck's trousers were pooled around his ankles, his shirt and jacket pushed apart, bullet-proof vest (with handy velcro straps) on the floor beside him, and one large hand was cupping him through his boxers.

Chuck's head hit the door with a thump. 'Ah!'

John massaged his erection, pressing the heel of his hand against the sensitive glans as Chuck's hips pushed forwards insistently. Chuck forced his eyes open to see John regarding him intently with lust-dark eyes, a fierce, possessive satisfaction on his face.

The big man growled.

Chuck emphatically did not squeak as John picked him up and carried him over to the bed. It was the champagne making him dizzy, not the effortless way his boyfriend lifted him off the floor. Certainly not the way he was suddenly completely naked from the waist down, or the way he found his legs spread wide by John's broad shoulders. This time, he didn't notice the click of the cap on the lube, distracted by John's mouth engulfing him, hot, wet, sucking powerfully. He did notice the finger gliding down behind his balls, since it unerringly found his opening and, before it occurred to him to protest, it was inside him.

'Wha- Oh, god! I, I, uh... John!' Between the champagne buzz and the incredible sensations shooting through his groin, Chuck couldn't form a coherent thought, let alone utter a coherent sentence. He gave up trying, reduced to clutching at the sheets, pulling a pillow over his head to muffle the animal sounds coming out of his throat as John drove him to the edge of coming again and again, only to pull back, slow down, until Chuck was a whimpering, moaning, uncoordinated wreck and the sheets were in serious danger of ripping.

John lifted his head and took in Chuck's pitiful condition with an evil grin. As Chuck panted and swore, the big man stood and stripped with his customary efficient grace, which Chuck watched through slitted eyes in complete and utter disbelief.

'You, you-' he spluttered in indignation.

John raised a sardonic eyebrow. 'Me what, Chuck?' he drawled, amused, kicking off his shoes.

'Fuck!' Chuck scowled.

'I could commend you on your accurate assessment of the situation, or I could...' John dropped his trousers and shorts. Chuck didn't have long to take in the sight of his lover's jutting erection because John, producing a condom from mid-air as far as Chuck could tell, rolled it over said erection and knelt on the bed between Chuck's thighs.

'You could, uh...' Chuck prompted, dry-mouthed and with pounding heart; how much of that was nerves and how much arousal, he couldn't tell.

John stuffed a pillow under Chuck's hips, just as he had that morning, then laid down, spreading Chuck's legs uncomfortably wide, covering Chuck with his solid, muscled bulk, reaching between them to guide his cock into place.

'Or I could fuck...' John trailed off as Chuck's eyes widened at the feel of John's blunt hardness pressing at his opening. With a nudge of his hips, he was inside.

'Ah!' Instinctively, Chuck clenched against the intrusion.

'Relax,' John ordered, sliding his hand between them to rub low on Chuck's belly, take his softening cock in a comforting grip. He waited as Chuck panted through the burn.

'How?' Chuck managed to choke out.

'Bear down.' John kept eye contact, stroked him gently. 'Breathe deep.'

Chuck concentrated on the sound of the words, on John's measured breathing, on the promise that this could be, would be better. He fought his body's rejection of the invader until, miraculously, he actually did relax, the pain easing to an awareness, a stretch, and John slid further inside, dropping his head to kiss Chuck slowly, thoroughly. Chuck surprised himself by whimpering into the kiss, moaning as his hips twitched upwards, driving John's unflagging erection still deeper into his ass.

With one long, smooth push, John drove all the way into Chuck, groaning as he stopped, fully-seated in that incredible, tight, slick heat.

'God, Chuck!' He rested his forehead against the younger man's, a bead of sweat standing proud on his temple.

Chuck looked up into eyes so dark they seemed all pupil, seeing the effort of holding back in the set of John's jaw, the flaring of his nostrils as he fought to hold still, to hang onto the last shreds of his control. With a quirk of his mouth that was almost a smile, Chuck thrust upwards. He had almost no room to move his hips with all of John's weight resting on him, in him, and his cock was trapped between them, sweat-damp hair coarse against the sensitive skin, but it was enough to galvanize John into action.

With an explosive grunt, John pulled back and slammed into Chuck, hitting a spot that had Chuck crying out, stars exploding across his vision. As John powered into Chuck again and again, Chuck clutched John's hips, hanging on for the ride, hardly hearing the gutteral noises that fell from John's lips to mix with the cries that forced themselves up and out of Chuck, filling the room with unmistakeable sounds of passion.

Tension built and coiled within Chuck again with each thrust of John's muscular hips that drove into, against, over that spot inside him, that rubbed his dick between their heated bodies, until it was unbearable, he couldn't withstand John's onslaught a second longer; he would be broken, split in half by that huge cock, ground into pieces on the expensive hotel sheets, but a thrust harder, deeper than was surely possible, turned the world white behind his eyelids as he shot explosively, muscles clenching rhythmically around John, leaving him sobbing hoarsely into John's shoulder as John pulsed inside him, coming endlessly in a wordless shout that sounded as though it was dragged from the depths of his soul.

Chuck barely registered John's hiss of withdrawal, the cloth that passed, cool and damp over his opening, or the arms that divested him of the remains of his shirt and crumpled jacket, tugged the duvet out from under him, covered him over and wrapped him in a full-body embrace. He fell asleep to the steady, comforting beat of John's heart, his head pillowed on John's chest, and didn't wake until the late-morning sun forced him into awareness.


	9. Chapter 9

**Note: **_This is the happy ending for Chuck/Casey - if you're not interested in anything else, this is the last part. **Don't read part 10!**_

* * *

It was early evening, the day after Ellie's wedding. Chuck perched gingerly on the edge of the fountain, shifting as a twinge reminded him of last night's activity.

'Hey.' A small figure sat down beside him, uncharacteristically subdued.

'Hi, Morgan.' Chuck trailed his fingers through the water, concentrating on the ripples they made.

Morgan tucked his hands between his thighs, breathed deeply and sighed out. 'So, can I take it you aren't moving in with Sarah?'

Chuck grimaced. 'We split up.'

'You know, that was pretty obvious. I could tell by the way Casey had his hands on your ass, oh, only all evening.' Morgan paused and Chuck finally looked up. 'You could have told me, Chuck. I'm here for you no matter what. You could have talked to me.'

'I'm really sorry.' Chuck's expressive face showed his distress. 'I shut you out, and I shouldn't have. I just... I didn't know how to tell you or anyone else.'

'What happened, man? I know Casey's always had a thing for you, but you only had eyes for Sarah. So what went wrong?' Morgan's voice was high, tight. 'Help me understand here, buddy.'

'I... Sarah and I just aren't meant to be,' Chuck said helplessly. 'It was never going to work out and I guess when I was faced with moving in with her... I couldn't do it.'

'I thought that was just cold feet,' Morgan protested.

Chuck shook his head. 'It made me realise there was something fundamental missing between us and no matter how much I wanted it, it just wasn't right and I couldn't make it so.'

Eyes wide in distress, Morgan pushed on. 'But Casey? Really? How? When?'

Chuck shrugged. 'Not long. He... He took me out, told me he was there for me, he was interested.'

'Out as in on a date?' Morgan's eyes bugged, incredulous. 'You guys are actually dating?'

'Yes, a date and yes, we're dating.' Chuck frowned, offended. 'Why, you think guys can't date?'

'No, no, no, guys can date, sure, but Casey? John Casey actually knows how to date? Without threats of violence?'

'Hey!' Chuck nudged Morgan with his shoulder, nearly knocking the small man into the fountain. 'Yes, John knows how to date. He's very charming when he wants to be.'

'Wow, that's not a word I'd ever have applied to him.' Morgan frowned.

'Stop insulting my boyfriend!' Chuck nudged Morgan again.

'Sorry, sorry,' Morgan raised his hands in surrender. 'Charming, whatever you say.'

Chuck glared at him.

'It's not something I've ever seen, but then again, last night with that tango, you guys were smokin' and I know I never thought I'd say that about my best friend and the scariest guy in Burbank,' Morgan rambled. 'So did you...?'

'What?' Chuck asked, confused.

'You and John? Get past third base? Hit the home run?' Morgan grinned.

'I am not discussing my sex life with you,' Chuck said, flushing.

'You did! So did you do him, or did he-' Morgan broke off abruptly. 'Hi Casey!' He grinned nervously. John twitched an eyebrow. Morgan swallowed.

'Chuck, can I have a word?' John rumbled, ignoring Morgan.

Chuck exchanged glances with him and nodded. 'Be right back, Morgan.' He stood gingerly and followed Casey over to his doorway. 'What's up?'

John shifted to keep an eye on the entrance to the courtyard and also on Morgan, who was staring at them with unabashed interest. 'You should move in.'

'What?' Chuck's eyebrows shot up towards his unruly hair. 'We only just started... this!'

Leaning in, John lowered his voice to a rumble. 'You need to move out of Ellie's now that she's married, you know that. I have a spare room. You can have your own space.'

Chuck frowned. 'I suppose it'll make it easier to go on missions.'

'Got it in one, genius,' John flashed a rare smile. 'Besides, you might enjoy the company.'

Chuck studied John's face for a long moment, then his frown vanished and the corner of his mouth quirked up. 'You never know, I might. Sure. You'll have to move the spy stuff out of the living room, though, or Morgan might get suspicious.'

John groaned. 'Fine. We'll move your things tomorrow.' He turned and strode back into his apartment.

Chuck grinned and watched him go, then went and sat back down on the edge of the fountain. 'So, it looks like I'm, uh, moving in with John. Get out of Ellie's hair, you know?' He ignored the way Morgan's eyebrows tried hard to meet his hairline and ploughed on as quickly as possible. 'How do you fancy a Halo 3 tournament at John's tomorrow evening? If you help me carry my stuff over there, I'll buy the pizza.'

'Let's see... an afternoon spent helping my platonic life partner move into his new and exceedingly scary boyfriend's place, with pizza and computer gaming to follow... Yeah, sure. I'll bring Anna.' Morgan watched him for a while, then put a hand on his arm. 'You know, if you need to talk, Doctor Morgan is always in for you, right?'

Chuck nodded. 'Thanks, buddy.'

* * *

**Note: **_I'm serious: if you want a Chuck/Casey happy ever after, **this is it! **Stop reading! The story is done! **Don't read part 10! **_

_Life is more complicated than that, things don't always have a happy ending, and sometimes an unhappy ending is just a step in the right direction. This story is based around the film Kissing Jessica Stein and, as with that film, people grow and change and the person who's right for now isn't necessarily the person who's right for you to grow old with. If you secretly hope Chuck stands a chance with Sarah, part 10 is for you.**  
**_

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	10. Chapter 10

Note: If you're happy with the ending in part 9, if you're a diehard Chuck/Casey shipper, DON'T READ THIS! It's the part with implied Chuck/Sarah shipping. For those of you who are interested, I plotted the story (intentionally, from the start) around a fantastic film called _Kissing Jessica Stein_. I don't think I've done as good a job as the writers of that did, but then again, it's a pretty kick-ass film and I highly recommend it.

_

* * *

12 Months Later..._

'Chuck? What are you doing here?' Sarah wiped her forehead with a towel.

Chuck dropped the pen back on the counter and pushed his form over to the receptionist before turning around. He took a moment to simply look at her, glowing with health and relaxed in a way he'd seldom seen, before breaking into a big smile.

'Sarah, wow! Fancy meeting you here! You're looking good. So this is what you've been doing since you quit the Agency, huh?' He took a deep breath and forced himself to look away at around the elegant dojo, taking in the whitewashed walls and warm wooden floors, at the class gathering up their things and heading for the showers. 'You enjoy teaching martial arts?'

Sarah smiled back at him; her smile was awkward but genuine. 'Actually, yes. I've got another couple of ex-CIA operatives here taking classes too, so we share the workload. We do some training for agents in the area, but it's good having my life back in my control. So were you checking up on me?'

'Oh, no, I figured I could probably use some exercise, you know? And I heard about this new place that's supposed to be really good, so I thought I'd check it out. I wasn't expecting to see you here.'

'And the five times you've walked past or sat outside were a coincidence, hm?' She smiled warmly and Chuck grinned sheepishly.

'Coincidence, yeah, sure.'

They smiled at each other for a long moment before Sarah looked away and dropped her towel on the counter. 'So how are Ellie and Captain Awesome doing?'

'Fine, fine,' Chuck beamed. 'Still working hard and Devon's still trying to get me to white-water rafting, but I suspect Ellie's pushing for babies. How's your dad doing?'

Sarah rolled her eyes. 'Staying out of jail, so that's an improvement.' She paused. 'How's Casey?'

'Oh, you know, now Fulcrum's history and the Intersect's out of my head, they reassigned him,' Chuck said lightly. 'Last I heard, he was heading for Kandahar, but he could be anywhere by now.'

'You guys split up? Are you okay?' Sarah put a hand on his arm, concern evident in her wide eyes.

Chuck nodded. 'I wasn't, not for a while. I mean, John was... You know. I loved him, but in the end, we were more like room-mates than, than lovers, I guess. He deserves better than that. I hope he finds someone who can give him more than I could.' He forced a smile. 'I got to keep the apartment, though. The NSA gave me a cheque for back-pay for all the time I spent as the Intersect, and that's covered the rent for long enough that I could quit the Buy More. Dad's staying with me for a bit, and we're working on a kick-ass computer game for training operatives. Oh, and Morgan and Anna are getting married next year. He trained as a hibachi chef. He's quite good, actually.'

'You know, I missed you all,' Sarah confessed. 'I missed being part of your lives, and I really want to hear all about how everyone's doing, but I have another class starting in a few minutes. Would you like to meet for coffee some time?'

'Tomorrow? Say, eleven?' Chuck asked.

'Sure,' she smiled.

'I'll meet you out front,' Chuck said.

Sarah hugged him, and he hugged her back, feeling the lithe strength in her slender frame. Then he let go and, with a genuine smile, headed out back into the LA sunshine. Flipping open his phone, he strolled through the late-afternoon warmth.

'Hey, John? Of course the line's scrambled. Yeah, I did it. Sarah looks great, we're meeting up for coffee tomorrow. She asked after you, by the way. How're you doing? Wow, Ilsa, huh? I thought she was undercover somewhere dangerous. Oh, you both are? Stay safe, you hear? When are you guys coming out here to visit? Okay, okay, go shoot bad guys! Bye!'

Chuck snapped the phone shut and paused, looking over at the single-storey building set back from the road. It was an iHoP. Half a dozen cars were parked outside and through the windows he could see a couple of waitresses moving about. He came to a decision and grinned to himself.

Tomorrow, he'd take Sarah for pancakes.


End file.
